Liberal education

When I made the decision to attend the University of Texas at Austin, I was somewhat aware of the liberal education its students received; I understood that the teachings at UT went beyond the textbooks and into higher learning. I didn't know about the existence of Plan II; it was introduced to me in a meeting with a friend. As a result of this meeting, the possibility of such a prestigious program immediately became one of my short term goals. I learned that Plan II would put me in a classroom with some of the most intelligent students at the university and expose me to an environment that would challenge me academically and personally. By being accepted into Plan II, I am getting the best learning experiences offered at the UT.

A liberal education goes along with the definition of liberal, but instead of "freedom from narrowness of mind" there is an emphasis on expanding your knowledge of the arts and sciences among other areas (319). You are just not focused on your area of study alone, which sometimes sparks objection to liberal education. I have always wondered, "why do I have to learn this particular subject if it has nothing to do with my field of interest?" The answer came a couple of days into classes my first year at UT; I began to realize that education and life are not just focused on one particular subject. There are many subjects like mathematics and science that are interrelated and is fully comprehended with the teachings of both; there are aspects of life that are dependent of each other like the well being of your family is dependent on the your success at work, which is normally determined by the amount of education received. When I connected education with everyday life, I began to understand the benefits a well rounded education, which is what liberal education offers, can have on my life. I believe it isn't enough to just know the skills of your particular field of study, but to know the basic skills and information of other subjects.

Liberal education goes beyond what is outlined in the syllabuses; it strives to let each student learn who they are as individuals and take what they learn in the classroom to improve themselves and the world around them. On the concept of Liberal education Newman states, "Let our students go forth and with the products of our laboratories and institutes, meet the economic needs of our time. But let us as an institution focus on the greatest of all resources-the human intellect" (319). Newman touches on an important issue; it isn't just enough to teach students how the reaction of certain gases yield a specific compound or how plugging in "A" and "B" into this formula will result in "C" but to teach them about the themselves and how can they make a difference using the products taught.

Plan II does an excellent job of unifying the the intellectual left side of the brain with the more emotional right side of the brain. Professor Bump will occasionally turn on stress relieving music, turn off the lights, and allow us to close our eyes and focus on our personal feelings in a classroom setting. It is very helpful because after we have had time to deal with our stress or tiredness, we can fully commit to the educational topic of the day. By allowing us at the beginning of class to give attention to our more emotional right side of the brain, we can turn on the intellectual left side of the brain without the neglect of the right side, which allow our discussions to include both.

Another aspect of Plan II that allows its students to get the full effect of a liberal education, is its smaller class size, which allows more interaction between students and teachers and students with their fellow classmates.

Since liberal education focus not only teachings learned in the classroom but also on human intellect, it is important to realize how the community, which includes individuals and nature itself, around you effect how you may perceive certain things. Adam Smith states, " 'As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation.' " Having the ability to think about your personal views and beliefs, you can in turn be able to help others even if you don't know exactly how they feel; the ability to imagine how you would feel in their situation was developed through the process of learning about yourself, your "human intellect."